Alright....... Darn it all....

My daughter grew tired of the guppies breeding like mad in her little tank so she gave them all away to new homes and decided she wanted a princess fish.. Having no idea what a "princess" fish looked like we went to the LFS to look for one...

Lo and behold she found it....

So she is now the proud owner of a deep royal blue Betta...

Pics possibly video to follow... I was hoping to avoid the betta bug... But now it appears my daughter has it.. LOL!!

 

Watch out, the betta bug usually leads to a more serious illness.... Multiple Tank Syndrom.
The symptoms are as follows:
The irresistable urge to save a beautiful fish from his/her dirty cup.
The ability to rationalize buying another tank, heater, filter etc to rescue said fish
The inability to go to the pet store or wal-mart without "happening" upon the fish aisle
And the most serious symptom.... talking out both parts of the conversation with you and the fish in the store about why you should bring him/her home!

LOL-- so happy to hear the betta bug has bitten again! ;D

 

Is she old enough to know the tank care and how to handle a betta.  They are a bit different from guppies, and have different needs, mainly in the control of feedings so as not to overfeed which can kill them very easily and is crucial as it is a quick death if it happens.  The fish can be dead in a matter of a couple of days if overfed or given the wrong food.

I would suggest reading the Betta Care Guide at the beginning of this part of the Forum.  It does not have all the answers by any means but is a good place to start and a guide to questions if you have any.  I see you have been a member for a while so please do excuse me if you know all the things I am saying but I wonder with children and bettas as they are bought for children often and they are a very human fish and need a lot of human attention as they do not seem to know that they are fish.  They are not pretty toys and I am not really sure that a child can grasp that they need to go talk to them and spend time with them and they have to NOT feed them all they want and they need to make sure that they stay warm enough and clean and the water surface cannot have things float on it because they come to the surface to breathe.  They have to have a lid because they are jumpers and have been known to jump out of their tanks and be found on the floor crispy the next day and unfortunately quite dead.

I really send good thoughts and pray for good things for your little daughter and her "princess fish" although I am truly betting he is a "prince".  I know that when they are active and happy they are a joy and a blessing to have around and can fill your heart with wonder as you watch them.  I hope that this is the start of a long and happy relationship between the two of them and we will be here to help with any problems that may come up to the best of our ability.  God bless your little one for rescuing a lovely creature and giving it a good home and love.  There are so many things worse for a child to have than the "betta bug" after all.  LOL

Sincerely,
Rose


I am not really as cranky as I sound, ask anyone   ;D

 

Just to rest your thoughts...

I am in complete control of the water maintenance and feeding of the betta. The fish is in her room and if you ask her she will say it is hers. But the general care and maintenance of the fish is done by me. ;D Also the tank is fully cycled, kept at 78 degrees, aerated, and double filtered. He does share the tank with a few fry and 2 female guppies which he has already greeted and showed them he is now the boss of the tank.. ;D So far the feeding is done in the morning and evening in very small amounts. The food has been blood worms and flake food thus far.

 

a princess fish.. that's too cute!